Psych/Mental Health NP
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Wondering what kind of job responsibilities psych/mental health np's typically have. What's a typical day like? Hours? Do you have to take call? Job satisfaction? Is there a high need?
I've just... Read More

Hello. I have a question for al dente or any others who are in private practice. First, congratulations on all of your professional and academic success!! I am an aspiring PMHNP and Im wondering how your practice differs from a private PMHNP practice? Also, what are the main differences between short-term therapy offered by PMHNP's and longer term therapy offered by PsyD's? Thanks for your help?

Most PMHNPs in private practice focus on medication management. Very similar to typical psychiatry practice except that PMHNPs are more likely to spend more time with a patient. For example, most psychiatrists in my city offer 15-minute med check appointments while the PMHNPs are more likely to offer 20-30 minutes, but most still focus on medication management with some supportive counseling.

As a general rule, PMHNP programs do not adequately prepare one to be a competent psychotherapist. You can still do psychotherapy as a PMHNP, but you will likely need to seek out post-grad psychotherapy training in order to become proficient. Since I was trained as a clinical psychologist first, I engage in in-depth and longer-term therapy with many of my patients, several of whom are not on medication. I also do med management only and combined med management/psychotherapy for patients depending on their needs as well as psychological evaluations and testing. I would estimate that 50% of my caseload is integrated med management and psychotherapy, 30% is pure med management, and 20% is psychotherapy alone.